Barbara Gancia exonerates Michelle and suggests she was a front for Bolsonaro's corruption scheme.
Diamonds were merely the chosen method of paying bribes to Jair.
247 - "It needs to be clear that, however unpleasant the figure of former First Lady Michelle may be to us, she has absolutely nothing to do with the case of the bribe paid by Saudi Arabia to Bolsonaro. Just because the bribe was paid in women's jewelry doesn't mean it was intended for Michelle. It's that, in this format, the agreed-upon value between the parties is easier to smuggle from one side of the border to the other," wrote journalist Barbara Gancia on her social media. Learn more about the case:
Brazil Agency – Former President Jair Bolsonaro will not be able to use or sell the jewelry he received from the Saudi Arabian government. The ruling was made by Minister Augusto Nardes of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), who accepted a request from the agency's Deputy Attorney General, Lucas Furtado.
In a decision published on Thursday night (9), Nardes determined that the former president must preserve “intact, as a faithful custodian, until further deliberation by this court of accounts, refraining from using, disposing of or alienating any piece originating from the collection of jewels that are the subject of the process under examination”.
CNN reported this week that Bolsonaro admitted to adding to his personal collection a box containing a wristwatch, a pair of cufflinks, a pen, a ring, and a type of rosary. The former president has not yet spoken publicly about the matter. In addition to this box, there are other items also received as gifts from the Arab government: a necklace, a ring, a watch, and a pair of diamond earrings. These remain in the possession of the Federal Revenue Service.
The rapporteur for the TCU (Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts) case, Nardes, also ordered investigations to verify whether the Federal Police and the Federal Revenue Service acted appropriately in investigating the reported facts and whether these bodies suffered internal pressure from the top leadership of the previous government. The TCU is investigating the former president for attempting to illegally receive jewelry with a total estimated value of approximately three million euros, equivalent to about R$ 16 million.
"The Federal Court of Accounts informs that, regarding the process that deals with [...] concerning evidence of irregularities related to the attempted entry into the country of jewelry with a total value of 3 million euros, it has adopted the necessary measures to rectify the situation by conducting an investigation with the Federal Police and the Federal Revenue Service, as well as hearing testimonies from those responsible, Jair Messias Bolsonaro and Bento Albuquerque, through the order of the Rapporteur, Minister Augusto Nardes," the TCU reported.
Minister Augusto Nardes
A Bolsonaro ally, Nardes was chosen to report on the case. Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO) contacted the president of the TCU (Federal Court of Accounts), Bruno Dantas, to request the recusal of the minister.
At the end of November, Nardes requested a five-day leave of absence from the TCU (Federal Court of Accounts) after the release of WhatsApp audio recordings. In the recordings, he stated that "a very strong movement was taking place in the barracks" and that there would be a "quite strong outcome in the Nation," referring to the anti-democratic demonstrations at the gates of military barracks after Bolsonaro's defeat at the polls.
As soon as the audios leaked, Nardes' press office released a statement in which it affirmed that the minister repudiates anti-democratic demonstrations and regretted the interpretation of the audio as being directed at a group of friends.